REDACTED
by Dr.Catfish
Summary: God please don't read this. Was a stupid idea, stupid plot with nowhere to go. It's a waste of your time; seriously.
1. After Math

Hey guys… First time writing a Fan Fiction, hopefully you will like it.

Based between the year period between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 with some non-canon elements after.

Please write feedback about what you thought. Also if you like it and write, I will continue with it for you guys to enjoy. (I'm not really good with catching errors… I spend too much time away from writing and I just put it out for you guys to read it. So there will be errors-a-plenty)

If I ballsed up some of the characters please let me know and I will re-do them.

Special thanks to Hikora Shin So for helping me edit and coming up with ideas.  
_

Shepard knew it wasn't going to be an ordinary day. As soon as she woke up she noticed something off about the way things in her room were positioned. The alarm clock was facing the furthest wall rather than at an angle towards the center of the room. She turned it slightly so it was facing the proper position. Getting up was a task after three hours of sleep. Whilst she was moving the covers off her lithe body, Kasumi de-cloaked standing at the cabin doors

"Get out of my cabin, Kasumi." She paused as she rubbed a hand over her eyes. "You know you shouldn't be in here. And if you weren't someone I knew I would tackle you to the ground and-"

"Is that any way to treat someone who helped you destroy the scariest force in the galaxy?" She teased turning away and walking out towards the elevator. Shepard sighed

They destroyed the Collectors just last week and just entered the Serpent Nebula and were two hours away from docking. Enough time to take a shower and talk to the crew. Shepard walked into the spacious bathroom and stepped into the shower – she didn't have to take any clothes off due to sleeping nude, a habit – after lathering up her body she stepped back into the warm water and enjoyed the feeling of the water over her body. After she was done her shower, she put on an N7 sweater and combat trousers. She walked outside the cabin doors and into the elevator, pressed number two – the CIC room – and walked to the right twice into the Communications Room between the Lab and the Armory and positioned herself at the far end. She rested her elbows on the table and placed her forehead in her hands.

"The galaxy wide known Commander Shepard with her face in her hands." The metallic flanging effect was instantly familiar as Shepard's head popped upright to look at Garrus. He continued walking over to her "Never thought I would see the day" His mandibles flared out slightly as Shepard frowned at him. "Eh-Heh…. Joke?" Shepard smiled; she couldn't stay mad at him.

She ignored him and turned to a pedestal on the opposite end of the table. "EDI"

"Yes Commander?" A female, monotone voice questioned. "Call everyone to the Communications Room." She spoke thinking about Garrus and her. She did have a huge crush on him, but never had the guts to tell him out of fear of rejection.

"Your eyes are glazing over, Commander" he said, stifling a laugh. She walked past him wanting to elbow him in the ribs, she settled for raising her shoulder and using her momentum and her hand to slap him across the head. His carapace was hard but slightly soft on the very outside.

"Oooo- I love it. Hit me harder next time." His voice always sent shivers up her spine as she walked to the end of the table nearest the door and clicked on the control panel, turning the lights dim. People began filing in as she did and when everyone but a select few arrived, she began her speech.

"As you probably know, we cut our ties and are currently an independent ship. We are at the Citadel as we speak." She thought about where this was going as she looked over her team. At least all her main team survived the suicide mission, all but Zaeed. "If you want to leave, you have free will and can. I will give you some credits to start you off. With the lack of Cerberus funding however, we need to find another source. And I feel the Alliance is the best bet, any disapprovals?" Shepard was met with silence. "Well, speak up!" Shepard placed her hands locked her hands behind her back. Two of the crew members moved to the right side seemed ashamed while others gladly walked to leave.

Grunt cracked his neck and growled at the crew leaving for Cerberus. "Battlemaster, those leaving are weak. And would've brought you down."

"It's not MY choice to leave Shepard" Sergeant Gardner almost apologized as he walked to the group leaving. Everyone from the ground force stayed while some from engineering and a few from maintenance and tech were leaving.

"I know you're all leaving for a reason. Whether that be for Cerberus or for Family reason, I respect that." The crew all looked up, confused by Shepard's words. "If you're leaving when we dock at the Citadel. Go ahead and pack in your rooms, were docking in two hours." After everyone had left, people began to voice their opinions.

Tali was first to speak up, "I can't do everything down in engineering on my own!" This was when Kenneth and Gabby spoke at the same time "You have us." They both looked at each other, and then looked away leaving Gabby blushing. Joker's voice came over the speakers in the Communication Room.

"Didn't know I was flying the Love ship, Commander. Is that four relationships?" everyone in the room chuckled except Shepard who felt embarrassed but didn't show it.

"As I said we're going to try to get the Alliance on our side to give up funding. We need it now that we don't have Cerberus to lean on. After we get the Alliance help we are going to re-unite all the races in the galaxy to help up against the Reapers, starting with the Krogan and Turians to fuel the main attack of the fight." She paused as she walked around the room and pulled up a hologram of Harbinger, the lead Reaper. The image lit up the room as everyone examined it closely and looked for anything that could be useful against it. Finding no flaws they moved away from the image to hear what their Commander had to say.

"We are going to be up against hundreds of these in the next few months. And I hope that all of you are ready for the coming battle." Everyone in the room nodded and some even gave a 'Hell Yeah.'

"Once we dock everyone is free to roam in the Citadel. Once were leaving I will message you on your Omni-Tool. EDI, keep in touch and try to make Joker leave his baby for once on his wheelchair."

"That's not happening, Commander." He paused, "docking at Bay27 now." The crew felt the slight pull and click of the magnets on the ship's hull. "EDI prep emergency release, have a good shopping spree guys."

Everyone but Shepard and Garrus left the Communications Room. Shepard was walking out of the room thinking about the meeting as she began ordering uniforms from Kassa Fabrications when her head met the hard chest plate of Garrus and her body carried her momentum and collided with his leg.

"I know it's not the time to ask with you rubbing up on me." He wrapped his claw around her shoulder to make sure she didn't fall and lightly pushed her slightly away. "But I've been looking at a new sniper rifle that is coming out soon. Luckily it's made by The Alliance." Shepard glared at him through her large blue eyes.

"I will see what I can do." She stood on her toes and gently kissed his cheek. Garrus grabbed her shoulder and tried to pull her in towards him and Shepard used it to push him away from the door and saunter out towards the Airlock. Those leaving from the Normandy had their items packed and were beginning to enter decontamination.

"Shepard, most of us are leaving due to your actions in the field. We feel that leaving Cerberus was a mistake. And are leaving to go back to Cerberus and help them in their efforts." Shepard clicked on her Omni-Tool and gave each of the Pro-Cerberus group ten thousand credits each, seventy thousand in total. They turned and entered the decontamination cycle.

"We don't want to leave the ship, Shepard." The smaller group began as they walked towards her. "It's just that we have family and want to check up on them and spend time with them in our maybe last moments."

"I understand. If I had any family left I would be sure to talk to them in these strange times. Times where you won't know what's waiting for you around the corner." The small group saluted their commander and she returned it. While they were leaving she gave each of the smaller group twenty thousand credits each, one hundred thousand in total.

After her talk with those leaving and giving them credits she mumbled silently. "Fuck you too Pro-Cerberus." She turned and began to walk towards the elevator but slammed into Garrus again. "I swear if you make me run into you again I'm going to make you talk to the Yeoman for a month!" Garrus quickly left towards the kitchen to look in the fridge for some dextro-oriented food. He looked sad – whatever passed for sad on a Turian – and chose a protein bar. Shepard walked past him and into the elevator. She tapped the number four on the clear hologram screen and the elevator moved seamlessly downwards.

The waits on the elevator in the Normandy seemed lengthy at the least. The elevator pinged and stopped with ease, opening the doors to the Engineering Deck. She walked through the right hallway door towards the Mass Effect Core. Tali'Zorah was typing away on the engineering control panel with her six fingers. Shepard walked beside and unconsciously stared at her hands blazing away at the panel. How could someone type that fast with fewer digits? She thought to herself as she leaned a hip on the panel.

"See something you like Shepard?" Tali questioned not moving her head or fingers from the panel. The numbers and letters flying past the screen confused her even though she was a Sentinel.

"How do you read that stuff?" The Quarian turned her head towards Shepard. Got her she thought as she stared into the purple haze.

"It's not that hard once you learn. I thought you were skilled in this stuff." Shepard felt hurt but did her best not to show it, right in the ego.

"Not that skilled in the whole engineering thing. But you seem to being doing pretty well at it."

"I am a Quarian, were born knowing how to make a Mass Effect Core."

"How have you been doing after the Collectors Tali?"

"I've been through better, but we all made it through... everyone besides Zaeed" Shepard and Tali shared a small moment to mourn their departed friend.

"I hope you're alright. We want everyone to be at their full capacity. Keelah se'lai" Tali returned the saying and continued on her work.

Shepard walked to the opposite side of Tali and talked to the two human engineers, Kenneth and Gabriel.

"Kenneth, Gabriel. How are you two?"

"What ye be talki-"Kenneth was cut short by Gabriel elbowing him in the gut.

"He means… We've been doing fine and are handling the Normandy with ease. Although the lack of those two engineers sends a bit more onto our plates. But someone has to do it." Kenneth looked at her strangely. "Sorry Gabby I thought he be talking about sometin' else."

"In front of the Commander is not the time to say it Ken." Gabby blushed and turned back to the panel. Shepard started to walk away before Gabby stopped him.

"Shepard!" When Gabby got her attention she proceeded. "Could you please get the new Ef-Thirty Seven couplings for the Mass Effect Core? The old Twenty-Nines aren't doing the ship justice. And with the new ones, we could keep the ship in stealth drives longer.

"I will see what I can do" was replied before she left.

On the way back to the elevator, Shepard clambered down the stairs into Jacks hole. Jack was lying on her bed her back to Shepard with her skin tight leather vest on.

"Jack?" Shepard approached slowly.

"What the fuck do you want?" She asked, her back still turned to Shepard

"Just wanted to ask how you were doing. Do you mind?" Shepard pointed towards the chin-up bar beside Jacks bed. Jack shrugged in reply. Shepard stretched her arms and shoulders and began doing chin-ups. Her slim body didn't offer much resistant to her toned arms and she began to do chin-ups at a regular pace.

"I'm worried about you, Jack." One, "you're getting even angrier at Cerberus and anyone involved." Two, "One of these days" three, "I'm going to do something for you you won't see coming." Four, "But before I can do any of that. You have to let me help you. Because if we can't help you." Five, "No one will" Six and that's all she can do in this time. Shepard jumped off the bar and cracked her neck, she was leaving when Jack spoke up.

"Shepard." Jack rolled off the bed and stood up as Shepard turned around. Before Shepard could react though, Jack hugged her and whispered in Shepard's ear. "If you're lying I'm going to fucking kill you." Shepard chuckled and hugged the biotic back. After their hug, Shepard walked up the stairs and into the Port cargo hold to talk to Grunt. Almost as soon as she opened the doors she heard Grunts voice.

"Shepard,"

"Grunt." Shepard looked around the room, the emptiness.

"I will follow my Battlemaster to the end. You provide difficult enemies to kill and plenty of them. As long as you keep that up I will never leave your side."

He knew what she was going to ask before she even said two words. "I appreciate the help Grunt. We need everything we can get to throw at the Reapers

Shepard walked back to the elevator and pressed the button to go to Floor Three, the Crew Deck. Shepard quickly took a left and entered Kasumi's room first. She always liked Kasumi; she was like a sister to her. As soon as she entered Kasumi's room she notices several things. A very decent perfume, new paintings on the walls, books scattered about the cot in her room and Kasumi with her knees at her chest reading a book entitled "Pride and Prejudice." Shepard never understood why she chose to read a book when reading from a data pad was much more convenient, and less wasteful.

"Hello, Shepard." Katsumi nudged over to the far side of the couch. Her hood concealing all but this wide smile splayed across her face.

"What's so funny?" Shepard asked reading Kasumi for information.

"That was very sweet kissing Garrus like that. Even I didn't expect it, at the time you look like you could've taken on a reaper yourself." Shepard blushed and looked down at her hands which linked and un-linked in front of her. "Don't worry. I'm the only one who knows your relationship with Garrus."

Shepard mumbled half to herself. "I'm not in a relationship." Kasumi looked up from her book and smiled at Shepard.

"It's not that discrete. Everyone on the ship knows that you have a massive crush on Garrus. And I could see you being a cute couple."

Shepard blushed harder and spoke quietly. "I… May have a crush on him, but that doesn't mean were in a relationship."

Kasumi pat a part on the couch that was empty and examined Shepard from behind her hood. Shepard was reluctant to sit at first but thought the talk could release some tension, or build it. After some silence, Shepard decided to break it first.

Shepard confided in Kasumi. "I do like Garrus, but I have got a few concerns if I were to start a relationship with him how would I do it? What could me and him do intimate wise? And how would that go over with the crew?"

Kasumi smirked over her knees while she looked at Shepard, setting down her book. "You ground force troops are so dense. Have you ever done anything like this?" Shepard shook her head bashfully. And Kasumi looked surprised at Shepard's reaction. "Really? I would've thought a pretty lady like you to woo all the guys." Shepard looked at Kasumi hopefully.

"Do you think Garrus likes me?" Kasumi nodded and smiled. With newfound hope Shepard walked out the door, thanking Kasumi.

She left the room and walked through the door into Life Support. She tried to be quite as no to disturb Thane in his meditation, all which seemed in vain as Thane spoke.

"Shepard. I regret to say that I am leaving the Normandy. Keprals syndrome is in its final stage. All my sins have been forgiven and I do not wish to gain any more.

Shepard felt more hurt than she should of at the comment. "Can I help stop this disease? What do you need? How long do you have left?" Shepard shot out questions as the Drell quieted her with two fingers.

"There is nothing anyone can do to stop it. At this point I only need to say my final goodbyes. The last doctor I went too said I had three weeks. Six months ago." The Drell looked saddened at Shepard who was almost tearing up at the thought of losing another one of her friends.

"Im… Im sorry, I wouldn't have thought…" Was all that Shepard could manage as she remembered something important she had for Thane. "Wait for me. I will be right back with something special for you." Shepard got in the elevator and returned to her Cabin. She opened a compartment underneath the bed and pulled out a colorfully wrapped, rectangular box. She returned and Thane was standing in the same spot. She handed him the box and his eyes transfixed on the colorful package. His deft hands ripped through the wrapping and carefully opened the cardboard box. He pulled out a picture frame which faced away from him. He looked up at Shepard and she smiled at him, motioning him to flip it over. When he did his eyes widened and mouth went slightly a-gape as he stared at the photo in front of him. It was a picture of Irikah, Thane's wife.

"How did you get this? There were never pictures of her anywhere."

"I have my sources. I know you still love her Thane, and I wanted to get you something you would cherish in case you left us. I can honestly say I'm sad to see you leave us, Thane Krios." She approached Thane and embraced him. He seemed reluctant at first but then wrapped his arm around her. After a short hold she released and left the room and Thane to his thoughts.

After checking in with Thane, Shepard walked over to Starboard Observation Deck to check on Samara the Justicar. The doors silently slid open and Shepard stepped in knowing she knew where she was before she got off the elevator. The blue Mass Effect haze around her dissipated as her arms dropped to her side.

"I heard you approach from the elevator, Shepard. That was a very nice gesture towards Thane, he appreciated it much more than you think."

"I still don't know how you do that, creepy being able to know where everyone is and what's going on. But being a Justicar you would only use it for good I suppose."

Samara stood up from her position and turned to Shepard to nod. "If I were to use it for the wrong purposes I would have to kill myself."

"Will you be staying with us for the fight against the reapers?" Shepard asked analyzing the Justicar. She seemed unfazed by the question but paused slightly to consider her answer.

"No, I will be leaving at the citadel to aid in Thane's last moments and to spread the Justicar code to other Asari." The sadness she felt was imperceptible as Shepard began to speak again.

"At least accept some credits before you leave." To which Samara declined stating not accepting is the most honorable option. She left Samara and once outside transferred twenty five thousand credits to Samaras account through a secret channel.

After leaving Samaras room. Shepard walked into the Med-bay and spoke with Dr. Chakwas. She recommended Shepard see her but was turned down. Shepard walked into the A.I Core to talk to Legion.

"Shepard-Commander, this platform will assist in the Reaper war as much as possible. We will also assist in your plans for Quarian-Geth peace by destroying or rewriting the Heretics." Legions 'eyebrow' panels on the side moved outwards with the top ones. To signal it wanted to see Shepard's reaction.

"Thanks for staying Legion. We can always use you to help with hacking and the tech problems we come across. Also helping us with the Geth will give us an advantage to make peace." Shepard locked her hands behind her back and examined Legion. He still refrains from telling her why they decided to use her weakened N7 armor. She brought it up again, to be returned with. "This platform requires consensus."

Shepard left the Med-Bay and looked towards the Main Battery. I already have talked to Garrus I suppose, she thought to herself before she turned away towards the elevator. She tapped the button for floor two. Once the elevator arrived, Shepard talked to the Yeoman.

"What's going on in the ship, Kelly?" Shepard crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Commander, you have new messages at your terminal. Also Garrus would like to speak to you in the Main Battery." Kelly smiled as Shepard walked over to her terminal.

Shepard looked in her inbox and seen one unread message. She delayed reading it as she checked her squad status and what they would need or want. Almost everyone placed a requisite for better food in the Kitchen. She went back to her messages and seen the message was from the citadel. She opened it and read the advertisement.

**New Uniforms Available!**

Due to the increase in SPECTRES recently, SPECTRE Requisitions are now selling custom made uniforms but currently we supply Human only uniforms. Uniforms can be bought pre-made for a reduced price but custom made suits will cost more, and any selected fabric/armor will increase or decrease the price as states.

Custom suits: 2500 each

Pre-Made suits: 1500 each

Thank you for your business  
**SPECTRE Requisitions**

She read the message and discarded it leaving her inbox empty. She logged off and walked towards the Armory. Jacob heard her come in and saluted, which she returned. She retrieved her armor, used mainly in the Earth Urban Combat Championships. She primarily liked it due to the signatures from the members of the team back on earth that, and how tight the under suit was made it the perfect set for her to wear. While she was suiting up, Jacob looked at his commander to see her bending over to pick up the wrist attachments. Shepard straightened up and turned towards Jacob who looked away a few seconds to late. The seals on the suit locked and oxygen began pumping through the suit via re-breather.

"Staring at women and fixing guns your specialty?" She questioned teasingly as Shepard wiggled her hips like the suit wasn't fitting right.

"Fixing guns yes, staring at women? No." Jacob returned to the M-8 he was cleaning and held his breath until he heard the commander leave. Shepard walked out of the Armory and into the Lab, helmet in hand. She checked the upgrade panel to see if anyone requested any upgrades. Shepard stopped to talk to Mordin.

"What are you working on, Mordin?"

"Genophage cure, Quarian immune system replenishment. What would you like?" Mordin spoke fast; almost too fast to be heard correctly when he went on off a tangent.

"Do you have time to talk?"

"No, working hard on cures. Perhaps later." Mordin went back to his work with a petri dish of who knows what.

Shepard left the lab and out of the airlock on Floor three. Four guards were positioned on either side of the door of the life scan room. Newly added to all major docking stations on the citadel to detect false entrance and to see if the person was really who they said they were. Shepard passed through problem free and continued to the Citadel Embassies. Her first stop was the SPECTRE Requisition terminal to get new uniforms for her crew. After she walked up the stairs, she stood in front of the SPECTRE door and waited for the scanner to verify her position in the Alliance. Once the door opened a female VI in the form of a hologram Asari welcomed her and asked if she needed assistance.  
"Who do I talk to about custom uniforms for my crew?" Shepard asked locking her hands behind her back.

"Commander, you can talk to me or Commander Bailey, we will also need custom fittings of everyone in the crew. Your crew contains races besides humans and we canno-"Shepard cut the VI off.

"I know that you don't supply alien races. I just want some uniforms for humans. I'm going to need at least twenty three custom made uniforms."


	2. The Next Mission

Thanks to a few Unidentified Guest who haven written pleasant reviews… I am continuing with the series! I will continue to make each chapter roughly ten-eleven pages worth on word. Once again please write a review. Criticizing writers makes them get better and I certainly need to get better!

Little Foot note: Using the ME2 Ship floor layout.

Thank you, all those who are reading!

To those who have written reviews I greatly appreciate your kind words. It motivates me to keep writing.

New update: Going to be adding Character changes. Signified by a line like the one right below.

FYI: This is a week after the Collector raid. Shepard had to make an emergency stop at Omega

for repairs before going to the citadel

Shepard

After ordering, customizing, and finalizing the uniforms. Shepard left the SPECTRE hall exhausted from answering questions that seemingly stretched into the hundreds. But when she left only an hour had passed, almost as soon as she left David Anderson approached her with a smile on his face.

"Admiral," Shepard saluted returning the smile.

"Just because I'm your superior doesn't mean you have to shove a board in your ass!" Anderson said and spread his arms to embrace her.

She followed through and he patted her back. "Copy that you goddamn martyr," they both chuckled and broke apart.

"It's nice to have this little reunion after your suicide mission. But I've got to go talk to the council. My vote holds some weight in these decisions now." And after that he left Shepard before she could say a word. Anderson is busy these days... she thought after he left. She walked down the stairs and into the elevator. She pressed the button to go down to the Presidium Commons. Once she arrived she checked the stores for anything she needed. She found an assault rifle damage mod and a heavy weapon ammo mod. Afterwards she went back to the Normandy docking station and passed through security and the airlock with relative ease.

After the decontamination sequence, Shepard removed the nano-fiber helmet and removed the ponytail from her auburn hair, running a hand through it she stepped behind Kelly who turned to Shepard, speaking as she did. "You have unread messages, Garrus Vakarian would like to speak with you and it's very unusual to see you with your hair undone Commander." Before Shepard could glare at her she turned around and stared at the control panel, plinking away. Well I guess I _should_ see Garrus now she thought as she sub-consciously walked towards the elevator. Pressing the button to return the elevator, she leaned against the wall on one shoulder. The elevator made a small *ping* and the doors slid open silently. When Shepard tried to enter she was stopped by the larger mass of Garrus.

"Well, well. My favorite Turian come to say hi." Shepard teased as she checked the task off in her head. Garrus looked down at her while she spoke.

"_Favorite_? I didn't know you thought about me like that. Anyway, what happened with that sniper rifle? Get any updates?" To which Shepard replied with a slightly agape mouth and a thought, which was one word: Shit.

"Sorry, Garrus I forgot to look into that, I can do that tomorrow when I go to pick up the new uniforms." Garrus' mandibles tightened. He seemed to shrug it off and mention it was fine and she could do it whenever she could. After they left Shepard went to her cabin, helmet in hand. She placed the helmet beside her PT (Personal Terminal) and began to strip from her armor. Her under-suit being exposed to the cool air of her cabin made her body tingle. She moved her hands down her lower abdomen and along her hips. She unlatched the clips on the armor with her Omni-tool and continued to run her hands along her body. Her hands ran along her sex, her breath hitched, she moved her hands higher and grabbed her breast through the under-suit. Heat began building inside her, she began to rub her fingers back and forth along her. Cupping her breast with her other hand.

"Sorry to interrupt Commander but the uniforms you have requested arrived. Also, Miranda told me to request you." EDI's voice piped in the room as Shepard sighed quietly. And stopped to look in the mirror at her in her under-suit, the suit was the most form fitting thing in her wardrobe. And she looked pretty good in it when she had her hair undone. She would be putting on the new uniform overtop anyway. She shrugged and walked out of her cabin and into the elevator, pressed the button to proceed down to floor three. Once she arrived she walked straight into the XO's office.

"You wanted to see me?" Shepard spoke more assertively than normal. She always felt Miranda was either competing with her for sexuality, or was just a complete bitch.

"Yes." She got up from her chair and strolled over with her perfect posture and high heels clicking in front of her. She walked over to the window looking out over the Citadel. "It's obvious you don't like me, Shepard."

"Is it? I know you revived me from the dead but that doesn't mean I'm going to appreciate you as a god. You just got to lighten up a bit, people around the ship are calling you the Ice-Queen." Shepard was trying to help the woman but she always rejected all the help that was given. But with Shepard behind Miranda she didn't see the XO was crying while looking out into space.

"I obvious _everyone_ doesn't like me." She spoke with an un-wavering voice but put extra emphasis on everyone.

The statement set Shepard aback. While her original plan was to berate, it quickly changed to reassure.

"It's not everyone." She stopped and looked above wishing to anything up there for help. "Look, if Garrus can take the stick out of his ass I'm pretty sure you can. Just try not to beat people with it."

Miranda chuckled but continued to look out the window. Shepard's Omni-Tool bleeped; when she opened it up she looked at the most recent notification was Joker requesting her.

Thank god, the situation was getting awkward. "Miranda I'm sorry to leave you like this but Jokers asking for me and some ne-"Shepard was abruptly cut off.

"It's fine really, you're a busy woman and I get that… I will be here." She continued to look out the window while Shepard left to go to talk to Joker.

Garrus

Garrus never felt this way about a female out of his race. Well, he never felt this way about any female. He always focused more on other things beside women but talked about himself as if women fell for him. But when he seen her… Everything in his mind became clouded and it was hard to formulate thought beyond her. Currently he was daydreaming about her while half-heartedly calibrating the Normandy's Thanix cannon. His neck flushed while he slowly taped along on the aerogel panel in the Main Battery. He wanted to do something for her. So he devised a plan that would be put into action sooner rather than later

Shepard

Shepard walked into the cockpit as Jokers seat swiveled around and he looked up at her with his forest green eyes.

"So when are we getting rid of you know what." He motioned his eyes towards the pedestal which EDI appears when she speaks. Just as he returned to look back at Shepard EDI's blue orb appeared.

"Talking about me in secret is rather rude, Jeff."

"And now it's calling me by my first name, great." He rolled his eyes and carefully moved his arms from the armrest to his lap.

"You're going to have to get used to _her_." She paused waiting for him to look at her face again. "Jeff," she finished.

"I don't need a woman and an AI telling me what to do. After all I am the best pilot in the galaxy." He smirked as he placed his right arm back on the armrest.

Shepard placed her hands behind her back and sighed slightly. "What did you call me here for, Joker?" She asked politely.

"Oh, right. I wanted to talk to you about EDI." Shepard started to turn away but Joker stopped her. "I was thinking about the choices we could have. We could get her a LOKI body or something so she could leave the ship. Or we could wipe her, who knows what Cerberus bugs she has in her.

"I assure you I have no virus' or surveillance bugs, Shepard. If you would like I can run several hundred tests and checks."

"That may lead us to believe you more. Go ahead and do it, how long will it take?"

"I am already finished. I have found three programs which could possibly survey what I was operating. They were files which I was not integrated with and they are now removed."

Shepard nodded to Joker and EDI and left the cockpit, walking back towards the Mess Hall Shepard's stomach ached from hunger. She stopped at the fridge and looked inside, without a cook the only thing inside was pre-made military grade food. She placed a memo in her Omni-Tool to look for a cook. Grabbing a protein bar she walked towards the airlock and entered a decontamination cycle. After waiting a half minute she walked out and met an Asari SPECTRE representative with a box of clothing. The Asari sent Shepard a form via Omni-Tool. She signed it with SR2 Normandy and transferred credits to SPECTRE Requisitions. She lifted the box and carried it into the Normandy and placed it on the Mess Hall table. She opened it up and pulled out her own uniform and slipped it on over her under suit. It was tight enough so it wouldn't have any baggage but loose enough to be comfortable. The suit looked like standard Alliance issue but using a main color of White with Red trim and black under cover. The suit was made out of carbon weave, resilient but flexible. The uniform looked great, but hopefully everyone would like it. She took Jokers uniform and walked into the cockpit. She threw the uniform on the floor beside his chair and walked out to the sound of him thanking her. After leaving the cockpit and walking past the two rows of sleeper pods, Shepard sat down at one of the free tables and opened up the protein bar she took from the fridge earlier. Almost silent due from the quiet talking at the other tables, Garrus came up behind her and took the chair to her right.

"Protein bars, Shepard?" Garrus' mandibles formed whatever passed as a Turian smile.

Shepard eyes the Turian suspiciously. What was he trying to do here?

"I've got a few questions that you're going to have to answer before I eat whatever you're going to give me" Shepard asked setting down her bar and placing her cheek in her hand staring at Garrus' bright blue eyes.

"Ask away." Garrus was staring. Shepard also thought she heard vibrations coming from his direction, however thought nothing of it.

"Why do you have Levo food?"

"I bought some in the Citadel when Gardner left. I knew that some people would want premium food."

"So… you saved the food for me instead of giving it to other people?" Garrus nodded his faceplates set to give him a "Yes" look without needing a nod. God she loved the flanging effect of his voice. "Why did you just decide to give me food today?"

"Felt generous, wanted to get you away from your bond with protein bars." His face was still in a smile and his eyes roved over her face.

Shepard made a thoughtful hum. "Ok last question." Shepard moved her hand from her cheek and stretched her arms above her head and then placed her elbows on the table leaning forward speaking as she did. "What kind of food are you giving me?"

Garrus seemed to materialize a container of food. The smell was spicy and seemed to cloud the table and fill her nose. "Where were you hiding that?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Garrus tried to open the container but his thick three talons couldn't grasp the pieces of the plastic. Shepard gently took the container and pried open the opaque lid to reveal a delicious looking The actual contents of the patty – which smelled delicious - were unknown

"I don't know where you got this but you should give it to someone else. Or save it for me later. It's a nice gesture but I'm really busy right now." Garrus' faceplate's set; the slight vibrations heard earlier went silent. "I'm not that hungry, a protein bar will do."

Garrus looked like he was sad and angry at the same time. Shepard looked up at his eyes and almost winced from the look Garrus was giving her.

"Ok, ok… I haven't eaten in a while but." Shepard looked at the burger and her mouth salivated in response. She looked at Garrus again to make sure he was still staring at her. "Take a picture, it will last longer." She smiled looking into his face as his faceplates relaxed and he started to look confused.

"What?" He subtly moved the container with the burger more towards the middle of them.

"Just an old human saying, it means your staring at me too much."

Shepard's eyes flicked down at the container and she pretended she didn't see him move it into her reach. She sighed and reached down to pick it up and looked at its contents specifically. Something green on top of a patty between two buns. Having no idea what the ingredients were specifically. She bit into it slowly while she glanced to her right to see Garrus beaming at her. The burger tasted fine and she took her second bite to fill her mouth. While she was chewing she noticed Garrus still staring at her. After swallowing the food in her mouth she set the hamburger and placed her hand on his collar

"That's sweet of you Garrus. I really appreciate it." She smiled at him and Garrus let out a breath through his teeth which was rather discrete but Shepard's battle heightened senses picked it up. "I would offer but its Levo…" He nodded and watched her while she picked up her sandwich. She continued to eat her meal while Garrus watched intently. Shepard felt rather nervous with him watching her the whole time she was eating. But she thought it was probably a Turian thing.

Garrus

Although Shepard didn't have any mandibles, a carapace or even sharp teeth, but Garrus found her attractive for a strange reason. Maybe he wasn't forward enough? Would she know he liked her? After watching her eat he strolled back to the Main Battery to plan his next move. Maybe ask her to the Citadel? Shepard always was more affectionate to him but never completely asked him out or showed too much care. Perhaps she was waiting for him to advance but he was too thick headed to notice. All those thoughts raced through his mind and when he lowered his head he heard the slight electric sound of Kasumi decloaking. Garrus turned his head towards her when he heard the noise. She was smiling underneath her cloak and started talking once she had his attention.

"Hitting on a superior? Not really the Garrus style of doing things."

"I've done a lot of weird things since Omega. Most of them helped me… A few hurt me." He subconsciously scratched the scar on his face with a talon and winced.

"Don't get philosophical with me, I just came to help you out with your approaching endeavor but if you don't want the help…" She started to walk out the door before Garrus stopped her.

"Ok, ok. I guess… I could use the help." Kasumi gave Garrus some lessons on the more personal human interests. When Garrus asked for a diagram or demonstration to remember better he got a mean look. She also told him some ways he could advance this upcoming relationship which was much different than the way Turians handled it. All then new information made him feel more confident and he knew his next attempt would be much more successful.

Shepard

The day was taking its strange turn just like she felt. Every representative in the Council requested to see her. She planned the meet accordingly with her plan to recruit a new cook for the Normandy. She checked the extranet for anyone in the Citadel with knowledge of cooking – Levo and Dextro - and a want for spacefaring. She found a few listings but the one that stood out was a six hundred year old Asari who cooked for two families her life. She requested her and added as a footnote: _Will be leaving Citadel soon. Reply quickly please. –Commander Shepard, _and sent the message. Hopefully she would accept by the time the Council meeting had finished.

The Council densely denied all fact of the Collectors and the Reapers. Saying that the Normandy's repairs were probably from a band of mercs attacking in a group and that the video captured on Shepard's Omni-tool was a fake. Luckily she had brought Mordin along who said that the video would have taken years to manifest, years which Shepard did not have considering she was dead for two. The only one who did believe her was Anderson but his vote was considered half of a whole one. Not even Udina believed her – not that I would help – and when the meeting was over they told her to go back to Haestrom. The Geth were acting strangely and the star seemed to be "undulating" as if under control. Shepard nodded and when she walked out muttered.

"Fucking assholes. Think I'm lying and they are denying everything even with _solid_ proof." To which Garrus nodded as he tried to keep up to pace with Shepard's long strides. While he huffed along he managed to get some words out.

"Slow down. I know you're angry but." He paused to get side to side with her. "That's no reason to blow a leg muscle." She ran a hand down her face and then through her hair, moving it past her ear and out of her eyes. She continued her tantrum all the way to the ship and once she got in she plotted a course straight for Haestrom.

"How fast can you get us there Joker?" She asked still fuming over the meeting a half hour ago.

"I could probably get there before you cool down but I'm guessing you're wanting to get there later than that, wouldn't want the Geth to get decimated too much. Call it… twelve hours?" The intercom cut out and after a few minutes Shepard felt the drop of the magnetic locks on the Normandy._ Chose not to use the emergency drop_ she thought to herself as she made her way to the elevator. She decided to go to engineering before her cabin, to see Kenneth, Gabby and Tali. Once the elevator gently pinged and the doors slid open seamlessly. She stepped out to Ken and Gabby muttering to each other and Tali silently watching the two.

Shepard walked behind them without making a sound and put her hands behind her back to listen to Kenneth mutter. "The next time were on the Citadel I'm going ta tak-"

"I appreciate you taking extra time to calculate the load the Thanix cannons add to the ship Kenneth." Shepard jokily said smiling as they turned around. Shepard raised her arms to stop them both from saluting her. "Treat me as any crewman."

"Do I really have ta calculate de load of the cannons?" Shepard muffled her chuckle with a cough and shook her head.

"What I really came down her for was to ask if the ship is ok for a trip back to Haestrom." Shepard cocked her hip and rested a hand on it.

"The last time we went we were pretty much fine. But if were staying in the dark side we should be good to go."

"I don't really know which side were landing on but I'm pretty sure were landing sunny-side up." Tali's head bobbed up and she looked towards the trio.

"Were landing on a way to fry an egg?" She asked making everyone else laugh. "What's so funny? Leaving a species out isn't exactly fair." She pouted. After they stopped laughing they explained it meant they would be in direct sunlight.

"Why are we going back to Haestrom anyway? Shepard you and I were on that rock. It's crawling with Geth!"

"That's why _we're_ going back, Tali. The Council sent us to investigate what the Geth are doing. They collectively suspect they are aging the star purposefully. For what, they don't know, that's mainly what we're going to find out." Tali didn't seem to catch the emphasis on we're but nodded politely and turned back to her panel to type. Shepard nodded towards the two other engineers and grabbed their wrists when they attempted to salute her.

"Don't," she paused closing her eyes. "Do that anymore. Please." She said and let go of their wrists. They curtly nodded their heads; Shepard smirked and turned around to walk back towards the elevator. She pressed the button to return to her cabin. When she arrived her personal terminal was silently blinking with an orange light. _Who wants me to see them?_ Plunking herself down into her chair she typed in her password and opened up her inbox. A sparse amount of spam mail made it through the screening. She noticed one of the messages had Vakarian as a signature. She quickly opened it anticipating Garrus writing her but when she read it she noticed it was Solana, Garrus' sister. She wrote mainly to ask how his brother was doing and if she could come aboard the next time they were near Palaven. She replied politely saying if at the time they were around Palaven the Normandy wouldn't be facing danger, yes. She leaned around her display case of models and looked at the clock on her night table. Three fifty seven AM, she rested her elbows on the desk and placed her hands around the edges of her head. Rubbing her temples from the fatigue approaching her all too quickly, she closed her eyes and rested for a few seconds.

To her, resting was agony. It gave her time to reflect on all her decisions and what she said throughout the day, criticizing herself. But mainly she thought about all the lives she took from her battles. Thoughts raced through her mind, thoughts of the Reapers, Collectors, Cerberus, the Council and Garrus… Garrus. Her mind did a mental stumble over that topic. Did she handle it well? He was rather brusque with his romance technique. Her limited Turian courtship knowledge allowed her to remember that Turians are very forward. She thought about how she could further the relationship but the thoughts were cut short due to her terminal pinging with an "incoming message" sound. She quickly opened it up to read a message from Tali.

"Perhaps when we go back to Haestrom, we could swing around to get Reegar? You already have some experience with him… Miranda could get a Dossier if you need it."

Kal'Reegar – a soldier they met _on_ Haestrom – would be a valuable asset on a ground team. She thought about it and replied saying:  
"Will look into it." She typed in her name stamp before adding. "Try not to jump and have your way with him as soon as he gets on the ship. Might lead to some crowds." Shepard smiled to herself and sent the message – to which Tali didn't respond – and got up from the chair to walk towards her bed. "EDI, log me out please." She said still walking.

"Logging you out, Shepard." The cool voice of the AI spoke as Shepard sauntered towards her bed – which only looked softer than it was – and began to remove her clothes. She always had an aura of neatness. It stuck out when it came to trivial things like, folding a uniform and placing it on a chair beside her bed, or organizing a stack of data-pads to alphabetical order. She never knew why she always did it, but like a routine; folded and placed her uniform on the chair and placed her under suit in the laundry chute. Landing on the bed with more of a thud than a rush of air she pulled the smooth covers over herself. And closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to go to sleep.

"Shepard." A voice whispered from nothingness. "Save us." It said again in the same clipped tone.

"Where are you? I can help you." She said looking around her. She was surrounded by sparse alien trees and a distant mountain range. Lush dark green grasses coated the ground in a bed and seemed familiar but strange. What planet had a livable atmosphere, almost overgrown forage an- the thought hit her like a ton of bricks. It was Mindoir. She looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing armor, and the ground seemed closer than before. _Am i? No I can't be._ She thought to herself as her perspective changed and her head spun around to look at the source of an explosion. A home hardly seventy feet away exploded in a brilliant ball of orange and red flame. She looked into the sky to see another red streak land further away and crash into the school she just skipped. Metal panels flew in all directions, scattering the ground in fire.

"You would have died." The voice whispered again." Her body subconsciously ran towards her house down the street. Another explosion rang through the air louder than the screams of the colonists. She looked back to see the street behind her caked in flame. Smoke billowing through the sky from the burning grasses. She looked ahead to see her father trying to get everyone to evacuate as quickly as possible. She looked up and stopped moving and tried to yell her father's name. He looked at her and to where her eyes were going before looking up at the red streak in orbit heading for the evac shuttle. He attempted to dive out of the way of the blast but was too close and was engulfed in the flame. The blast knocked Shepard off her feet and she hit her back against the cool metal wall of her home. Her vision blurred she shook her head in an attempt to clear her sight. Her ears rang painfully as she pushed herself up off the ground. She walked forwards towards her house to find her father. Looking around she painfully called his name. The ringing in her ears slightly subdued as she walked further up the street. She heard gunfire from the industrial area and thrusters accelerating and decelerating._ None of them made it out… But some must have gotten to the shuttles._ She stumbled as something wrapped around her ankle. She looked down to find her father with shrapnel from the explosion coating his back, his blood staining the ground. She kneeled down to him and grasped his hand. Her ears cleared enough to hear distant gunfire and her father speak.

His voice sounded like it had been dragged through glass shards. "Hide. Don't fight. Hide." He said as his hand weakened his grip around her ankle.

Tears ran down Shepard's face. "Dad… I love you." She said thinking of last words to say.

"I love." He paused and breathed in a raspy breath before coughing blood onto the street. "You" He finished his head slowly resting on the ground.

"Dad?" She shook him not wanting to believe he died. After a brief pause to the sound of gunfire and explosions she got up to walk towards their house._ Mom was teaching at the school._ Shepard thought as she shambled into the house. She looked around her home and opened a door to a bedroom with a king size bed and a large safe near the far corner of the room. She looked in the night table, her father's night table, and pulled out a plastic card. She swiped it along the indent on the card scanner attached to the safe and the door whirled and clicked open. She pushed the door open and reached inside to pull out her father's gun. A mattock, which was the first gun she had ever used, and walked out to the yard behind her house. A shed outside held tools for gardening and working but luckily hadn't any windows. She stepped inside after look around to make sure no one knew she entered and sat with her back against the wall, aiming a gun at the door.

Time seemed to go by too fast and before she knew it, the gun fire subsided._ Have we won? Or have we given up?_ She thought. The gun still aimed towards the door. A shadow moved past making Shepard hold her breath. It stopped at the front of the door and a deep voice echoed through the door.

"Ker'Naseet, do you want me to check the shed behind thirty four nineteen?" The number was Shepard's house number. She aimed through the scope on the top and placed it at average head level. "Copy that." He replied to "Ker'Naseet" his probable leader. The door, which was blocked by heavy items, was pushed inwards slightly before being released. "I think it's boarded up or something. I'm going to go ahead and ram it in." Shepard's finger poised on the trigger she waited for the impact against the door. The door shuddered against the weight of the attacker and the items blocking the door moved inwards. The door closed again and she waited a few more seconds before it was rammed again. The figure rammed through the door and fell face first onto the ground. Shepard adjusted her aim and fired a bullet into his head. Red blood splattered all over the floor and walls and some landed on her. She moved to close the door to the shack and investigated the body on the floor, placing her Mattock callously on the ground.

It was a Batarian, _on Mindoir?_ She thought as she picked up the Mattock from the floor. She grabbed the alien's arms and pulled him into the shack. She closed the door once the Batarian was inside and piled supplies in front of it to block it off. Her mind lingered on the radio that the Batarian was using. If anyone came near her house they would see the dark red blood from his body. She sat back in the corner where she was before. She raised the mattock and waited for another Batarian.

She awoke startled, by what she didn't know. But her body went rigid and she was sitting upright almost at a complete L. Cold sweat covered her body and she slid her hand along her lower arm. She looked around her room and then back at the clock to see the time, midnight. Still three hours until Haestrom. But she awoke early enough that the rest of the crew wouldn't be awake. She got out of bed while she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She stood up and stretched her arms behind her back. She picked up a fresh under suit from her closet and put her uniform overtop. She walked out of her Cabin doors and into the elevator. Pressing the button to go to Floor 3 and walked to the kitchenette to get a protein bar, coming up with a bar of the same size but with a new name. She took out the "Meal Bar" and examined the contents. Instead of the main item inside being protein supplement. It was filled with vitamins and all the necessary things for a human to live on. She opened it up and bit into it with her canine. She turned around to see Garrus standing behind the bar counter watching her.

"You must really like me or something." Shepard said as she filled her mouth with another bite.

His voice seemed to growl as if emanating a thoughtful hum. "Never said I _really_ liked you. But you are my commander so I have to like you somewhat."

Shepard nodded and walked out of the kitchenette started to walk towards the elevator but Garrus intercepted her.

"Who is going with you to Haestrom?" He asked. His hand raised in a three digit stop sign hovering around his hip level.

"Does it matter? We're going to kill some Geth and figure out why the sun is acting like it is." She tried to sidestep him but Garrus extended his arm and wrapped a hand around her wrist. She sighed and looked down at the flooring. She looked up into his eyes before she spoke, "Tali, Grunt and I."

The squad of three worked much better than any other number and Shepard had stuck to it. "Don't you want an assault team instead of tech? We can clear out the place were looking for then send in Tali and Mordin to deal with the technical stuff." He almost seemed to be pleading her

"We need Tali there for her Quarian tech knowledge and her knowledge of the location. We can send a ground team later." Garrus looked disappointed. "We will try to leave some Geth for you if you want." She smiled at him and his hand loosened its grip. She slipped her hand out of his hand and walked past him into the elevator to check on Joker.

Garrus

His neck was flushed blue from the rush of his blood. He loved and hated it when she smiled at him. It was a rare occasion but when she did he couldn't help but become attracted. He couldn't believe that she was going to Haestrom without him. It should be just like last time. Garrus, Grunt and her, to take out all the Geth before the science team comes in. But the decision was ultimately up to her. She was his Commander and he would accept her orders, no matter how stupid the decision. Garrus snapped back to reality from his thoughts, to anyone observing he must have looked like a statue. He turned and walked towards the Main Battery to continue on the calibrations he had neglected. The door swished open and the gentle humming of the Thanix Cannon filled his ears. He looked towards his makeshift bed which his body had been begging him for sleep for the past six hours. He had done more planning on the battle and with Shepard that he hadn't had any time to sleep OR calibrate the weapon. Now he was behind in both areas and started to regret it.

He received a message from his sister, Solana notifying him that she was going to be at the Citadel for the next few weeks and that she wanted him to visit her. Garrus had thought this as an inconvenient time but then considered that the mission at Haestrom would only take three days at the most and they would be back at the citadel by the fourth day came. He subconsciously sat on the bed as he mulled the information over. After Omega, he hadn't taken his armor off to sleep in case there was an attack. He lay on the bed and placed his head on a pile of pillows laid out specifically to support his head above the edge of his cowl. He looked at the ceiling for a moment without thinking and closed his eyes.

Shepard

Shepard walked into the Cockpit silently trying not to disturb Joker until she got close enough. She spoke louder than she needed trying to startle him. "Do you ever sleep?" He jolted and pressed the button to swivel the chair to face her.

"Do you ever _not_ scare the living crap out of everyone?" Joker smiled his usual smile and Shepard chuckled. "Approaching Haestrom now, Commander." He said as he turned back to the console.

"Good job, Joker, going to wake up the squad that I'm bringing with me." She turned and thought of something else to add. "Catch some sleep while we're on the ground. If we need the Normandy we can get EDI to handle it." She walked away to Joker mumbling something foul about the AI.

Sorry for being so late with this post… It's Farming time and I've got lots of shit to do! Once again I am SO SORRY for making you wait so long. I hate myself for putting this off so long.

Thank you all reading. Please write reviews, it encourages me to keep writing. Remember to leave a review!


	3. Shore Leave

Well…. This site doesn't recognize full lines…. So I hope it wasn't TOO confusing for you to figure it out, your smart people :D

I haven't written because you amazing people haven't written any reviews . Also to answer a question I read about, I'm gonna write till you guys have enough of it or I want to end it, look forward to about 25 chapters. 10 pages each. So 250 Microsoft Word pages worth.

(Maybe this kind of line works?)

The line that I tried didn't work… So X's will have to do. If you have an suggestions or hints to tell me how to get a line that isn't invisible. That would be appreciated.

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The A-Model Kodiak shuddered from gunfire from Haestrom. Shepard wondered how Steve Cortez was handling landing on a planet with a radiation filled atmosphere, and Geth. She was confident in the pilot of course, but wondered if his fingers moved as fast as Joker's. The speakers crackled and Steve's voice came through. "Landing in two," he said shortly before cutting the microphone. Shepard turned to Grunt who was leaning beside the door, smiling.

"I follow you because you give me things to kill." He looked straight at her. "A _lot_ of things to kill," he pushed away from the door and placed his free hand around the grip of his Claymore. Tali stood behind Shepard's right shoulder with her hand wrapped around the trigger of the Geth Plasma Shotgun she favored. Shepard placed her helmet over her head and pulled up her Omni-Tool which brought up her Tech Armor. It hummed silently around her as she placed her second hand around the grip of her Mattock. She had used it even against her training guidelines but once she held it, it felt right.

"Never understood why you use that." Tali mumbled as she stepped up beside Shepard. Grunt moved to her left shoulder and looked towards the door.

"Touching down in ten," the tinny voice said through the speakers. Shepard mentally counted down in her head._ Ten, nine, eight, seven…_

"Tali, remember to stay out of the sun. Grunt you don't have any shields so do whatever you want, landing… now." She timed the land perfectly as the door slid open to the harsh sunlight which was bathing the land. She looked around quickly scanning for enemies before finding shaded cover. The entire landscape was composed of smooth, gray stone and alloy. The heat radiated past her sink and heated the inside of her suit by at-lest six degrees. Geth looked their way and rolled or slid into cover. They stepped out into shade but had to cross a twenty foot swath of sunlight to continue. Grunt roared beside her and ran towards a group of Geth and Tali slid behind a toppled stone pillar and released Chatika who beeped before firing at a Geth Prime in the middle of a stone bridge further down. The stone around the area was constructed to specifically block the sunlight as if the Quarians were expecting the sun to become a red giant much faster. The Geth takeover however had left gaping holes in the walls letting sunlight bleed through like moth eaten curtains. Entrances to past buildings were visible only by the rubble blocking them. She was told she had to get to the R&amp;D Wing of the central building to get what she was looking for, but where would she begin? The time it took Shepard to survey and question her mission took roughly twenty seconds. But that was enough for her Tech Armor to take a round in the heart. She rolled into cover beside Tali and looked at her briefly before popping up to take aim at the incoming Geth.

The central building the trio walked into was dimly lit with electrical lights planted into the stone walls. An aero-gel panel sat at the far end of the wall beside a metal door blocking their advance. Tali jogged up to it and started typing quickly as she spoke.

"The Geth have locked this door down, probably to keep us out." Her head was planted on the console as her fingers tapped silently. Grunt and Shepard watched the door while Tali hacked the console. The room fell silent for a moment before the sound of grinding pierced the silence. The Geth were trying to open the door manually by severing the magnetic locks.

"Grunt, take cover behind that pillar over there." Shepard ordered, pointing to the right, Grunt nodded before moving. Shepard turned on the heel of her boot towards her left and jogged toward an overturned stone table which had several burn marks on the side she was on. She propped her Mattock to face the door and waited for the door to be ground open or for Tali to finish her hack.

"If you could hurry it up that would be great, Tali." Shepard snidely remarked.

"I'm trying, Shepard but the Geth added new measures to-"

"Less talk more kill!" Shouted Grunt as he aimed his Claymore towards the door. The sparks flying through from the other side were five eights down the door.

"Just a bit longer," Tali said shortly. The Geth who were grinding stopped and the door slid open and a Geth Prime strode in first. Grunt fired a round into it and it stumbled backwards before looking towards Shepard and firing. Shepard wasn't paying attention to the Prime but had managed to kill several of the normal Geth. The bullets ripped her Tech Armor apart and sent her shields down. She ducked behind cover too late and a bullet slammed into her left shoulder. She muffled the shriek with all the willpower she had and waited for her shields to regenerate. Grunt blasted the Prime and it finally crumbled. The door Tali was working on opened just as her shields started wavering. She walked through the door, took cover behind the edge and started to charge her shotgun. Grunt backed up still firing into the crowd approaching. Shepard's shields started to recharge just as she dashed towards the entrance. Tali turned to aim and launched the projectile towards a line of Geth. It continued on from its desired target and mowed down another two in its path. Grunt passed through the door and Tali pressed the button to close and lock on the console the other side of the door. It clicked audibly and the group turned around to enter the R&amp;D Wing. Shepard looked around to see the stone tables and pillars loaded with data pads and terminals. Tali seemed to know exactly what they were looking for and went to the table with a sparse amount of data pads. The only terminal there was still online and logged in to a specific page entitled: "Sun Development Faster than Usual." Tali seemed drawn to it and activated her Omni-Tool to transfer all the data the terminal had to offer.

"This will take a while, Shepard." She said as she looked at her Omni-Tool after reading more.

The adrenalin started to wear down and the pain in her shoulder forced her to start babying it. "Take your time. Not like we have a horde of Geth behind one, flimsy door or anything." Shepard sarcastically said as she scanned the room with her Mattock before riffling through some of the many data pads on a table. Keeping an eye on the hallway from which they came, she started at the first one and worked her way down column.

They walked out of the Kodiak with Omni-Tools full of data. The sun was not a side effect of the Geth invasion. But it was a side effect of some ancient Quarian artifacts that released strange energy which accelerated the aging of the star. The Geth were actually trying to stop the star from aging too quickly and wanted to send the artifacts to the far rim where the Quarian liveships would detect it. But to no avail as the Quarian ships opened fire before the scouts could deposit the artifacts and they were forced to retreat. Tali took most of the information and studied it on the trip back to the Normandy. After Shepard took her armor off at the Armory – with a few glances from Jacob – she returned to her Cabin to shower and sort the data she collected.

"EDI, tell Joker were going back to the Citadel." Shepard said as she walked towards the elevator.

The shower was refreshing and Shepard plopped into the chair of her work desk with a 'ploomf' and started to categorize the data into different data pads labeled various categories specified by Tali. After what felt like a day's worth of sorting. Shepard looked at the clock which read twelve nineteen and ran a hand through her hair before placing her elbows on the table and resting her head in her hands. Her terminal beeped to break the silence and she looked towards it in curiosity of who it could be. She typed in her password to see who wanted to talk. She opened up her inbox and opened up a message from Garrus which contained an audio clip. She opened it up and waited for his voice.

"Meet me in the Main Battery. I would like to talk." His voice said plainly almost with no emotion. She asked EDI to log her off and left her Cabin to go to down to Floor Three.

Shepard walked through the elevator doors before they were fully open and walked towards the Main Battery. She got within a few feet and the doors slid open, and she walked in to see what Garrus had wanted. She had just started to ask him about it when he spoke.

He was leaning on the aerogel control panel with his mandibles firmly stuck inwards. "I don't appreciate you going in with a minimal amount of firepower. The impact of your actions clearly shown right-" He paused to lean forwards and wrap a clawed hand around her wounded shoulder and squeezed hard. She cringed under him and moved her shoulder away from his hand. The pain burned intensely and it took all her willpower not to show any pain to him. The cybernetics installed within her healed her body at an astonishing rate but even bullets still left marks.

"I took Tali because I knew she had knowledge about the Quarian history and tech. I would have taken you if we didn't need information." Garrus turned to face the panel and began to type along it. Shepard stepped closer to his back and continued. "Garrus, trust me. I would have if I needed you." She paused and looked down at her hand which where interlocked in front of her. "Do you know why the Quarian and Geth war was started?" He stopped moving his hands and his head looked upwards. He turned around to face her and began to respond.

"You took a hit because you didn't have enough men to take on the Geth. I want you to abolish the three man system and take a squad of four." His face remained serious but his mandibles relaxed and parted away from his face slightly.

"The three man system has always worked well for us. It's just enough to get the job done but it's not too many for a leader to control." She responded and he started to turn back to the panel. She sighed and walked out of the door to go on to check on the crew before they made it back to the citadel.

They arrived at the Citadel and docked without a hitch. Shepard had her hand on the shoulder of Jokers chair and spoke into the speaker, broadcasting over the ship. "We have repairs and a thorough talking with the Citadel lined up, three day shore leave guys." An audible cheer ripped through the ship all the way down from Engineering. Joker patted the console EDI's hologram appeared and Joker was first to speak.

"Do the damages and repairs hurt you, EDI?" he asked and turned the chair around to face Shepard who had moved back a few steps.

"I do not have any system that simulates pain or emotion." She paused as if 'thinking.' "So that would mean no, Jeff."

Joker reached a hand out to Shepard who grabbed it gently and helped him stand with great care and no small effort.

"I told you to use your wheelchair." Shepard locked her hands on the small of her back after he was standing.

"I'm not a paraplegic, Commander." He rested on the wall nearest the airlock. "Just have to be careful." He turned to look at EDI's hologram. "I'll miss you old friend. Low power use EDI. Prep the emergency drop and just use the basic system unless needed." He started to waddle towards the airlock after EDI acknowledged the request. Shepard nodded as the airlock door closed between them. She moved off towards the elevator to go down to Floor 3 to get a meal bar before she left. After an excruciatingly long time the doors slid open to the crew trying to file into the elevator. Her slim figure easily avoided the crowd and slipped by into the Mess. She looked at the Kitchenette and spotted Garrus walking out of the Main Battery. He spotted her and showed her a Turian grin.

"I thought you and Joker would have been the first to leave." He spoke and stopped and began to follow her to the Kitchenette.

"I was hungry, so I'm going to take a meal bar before I go." She opened the fridge to emptiness.

"Where _will_ you go?" He asked and leaned on the bar. She turned, closed the door and glared at him with the poker face of a Hanar.

"I-I-Well…" She made a thoughtful hum and crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't get that far." She said and stared at him with the same poker face.

He chuckled, deep and throaty. "I'm going back to Palaven to see my family."

Shepard looked down at her feet, her hair moving in front of her face.

"Shepard, I-" He pushed away from the bar and paused briefly most likely wondering how to proceed. "I forgot about what happened…"

She looked up and grinned weakly without it touching her eyes. "It's alright. Say hi to your family for me."

"Maybe… you could say it yourself?"_ Smooth Garrus, Smooth._ Shepard thought to herself before she replied.

"Well… It's not like I have anything else to do." She paused to think. "Sure, when are we leaving?" Garrus' mandibles re-adjusted in a smile wide enough she was surprised they didn't snap off. She stifled a laugh but ended up smirking at his expression.

Before she left she had to buy certain items at the Citadel. Lead lined cloak for the radiation and other anti-radiation items to protect her when she was on Palaven. Luckily they weren't leaving for a few hours and she managed to finish her shopping in good time.

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Garrus

He was thrilled that Shepard was coming with him to Palaven. He appreciated the company even though she sometimes made decisions which caused anger at the moment, but praise later on. He waited patiently for her to buy some of the items she required to survive the harsh environment of Palaven. When she arrived the boarded the shuttle and made it into the atmosphere in only a few hours. They landed and Garrus filed out behind an Asari into the bright, temperate landscape. The copper tinged smell struck his nose and he took a deep breath. He felt a hand wrap around his talons and looked back to see Shepard smiling at him underneath her cloak.

She remained at pace with him while he guided them around to show her sights he knew. "I've never been on another planet to sightsee, it's different." She screwed up her face in an expression he didn't know. He showed her the Hierarchy building and memorials from the different wars.

Later, they found a Dextro and Levo restaurant and were sitting in a booth waiting for their orders. "I forgot to mention that you will be sleeping in my parents' house."

Her head shot upright to glare at him with a blank face which he remembered meant "what?" Her mouth went slightly agape then closed again. "What do you mean I'm sleeping at your parents' house? Are we… in a relationship?" He looked at her bright blue eyes and he felt his neck flush.

"Well, no, I mean… if you want it to be I'm fine with that."

Shepard chuckled and placed her head in her hands through her cloak. "Garrus you have the grace of a dreadnaught engaging fighters."

He chuckled and looked towards the kitchen behind the bar table. The restaurant was decorated in human and alien art and the styles were interesting. The walls were painted a mild green and the tables were faux white, gray marble with the same green trim. Shepard's cloak was a red, copper color that matched her hair and offset her eyes perfectly. The cover material was made of a material that looked slightly like a felt-leather hybrid. Garrus subconsciously clicked his talons on the table while analyzing his surroundings. Shepard looked over his shoulder and he turned to see an Asari waitress walk towards them holding two plates, setting them down neatly in front of them. She had ordered a plate of something she called 'Alfredo' and he had ordered seasoned cubed meat. They both looked at each other's plates.

Shepard was first to break the silence. "I wonder what would happen-" She trailed off and looked at him. Unexpectedly, Shepard's hand moved to grab a cube from his plate.

"You can't eat tha-" He didn't finish before she popped it into her mouth and chewed it tentatively.

"It's… Well I guess its sweet, compared to levo meat. I've never had anything Dextro before." She swallowed the cube after chewing it and returned to talking. "Hopefully I don't have a reaction…" She picked up the fork on the table and twirled it once in her hand. Garrus was dumbfounded._ Why would she do that if she doesn't know if she will have a reaction?_ He picked up his fork and tried to imitate her but wound up flinging the fork along the table. Shepard giggled at the action and handed the fork back to him._ Has she ever laughed like that before?_ His neck was hot to the touch now and he watched her take the first bite of her dish. He waited until she swallowed it before he speared one of his cubes and lifted it.

"How are you feeling? Any discomfort? I don't want you to have a reaction." He asked in a mild voice whilst seriously concerned.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. So you still haven't told me where I'm sleeping." She looked at him and placed more pasta in her mouth.

"I told you you're sleeping at my parents." He looked down at his plate to see only four remaining.

She swallowed her mouthful before speaking. "But you sleep differently than a human. And I know the house, but _where_?"

"Well I guess you would have t-" He paused and realized what she said. "Wait, how do you know we sleep differently?"

"I uh, did some research on Turians." She speared more noodles and ate them.

He placed anther cube in his mouth. "Whatever you say, we can probably find you a cot or something, unless you like sleeping in our style of bed that is."

"You don't have to go through all that trouble for me. I can sleep in a nest I suppose."

"Well… There may be another problem." Garrus rubbed a clawed hand along the back of his neck. "There is only one guest room. And there are two of us."

She coughed and placed a hand over her mouth. "There is no way I'm sleeping with you."

"Why not?" He replayed coolly.

"Because were not even in a relationship, that's why."

Garrus frowned when he reached for another cube and found empty space. He knew this could only be a yes or no answer and he was thinking for the worst. But he didn't care, she was already on Palaven. "Why don't we start one?" He held his breath while he watched her process this information. First she had a look which he remembered as shock. Then she grew a look thought, furrowing her brow.

"Because... Well I guess I don't have a reason." She looked at him and then down at her plate she finished off.

"Well then. This was an eventful day." Shepard laughed and they started to get up from the table. Shepard used her credit chit to pay for the meal and they left the restaurant. Shepard wrapped her hand around his first two digits and looked up at him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Won't you be out casted from your family?"

Garrus chuckled and they started walking down the street. "Like abandoning my SPECTRE training wasn't enough? They are still mad at me for leaving them for two years."

"Well… Omega was rough to you… What happened to you there?"

He sighed and looked down to his legs as they walked. "Well I guess I'll start telling you at square one."

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Shepard

They arrived at the house just as Garrus' tale was coming to an end. He asked her to not say anything to his parents, Omega or their newfound "relationship." She didn't know what to think about his offer. It was confusing at best. He didn't want to talk to her for a week, and now he wanted to date her. Thoughts swirled around her head while she perspired from the immense heat. The Geiger counter integrated in the cloak read that she had minimal amounts of radiation. They entered the stone building to a small main room with a few chairs and a television. A couple Turian children ran along with a female Turian, probably their mother or sister. An older woman sat in one of the chairs, rocking slightly.

"Garrus?" The woman herding the children said as she looked at him. "What happened to your face? Why are you here? Who is this with you?" She asked the questions quickly as she moved a talon along the scar on his face.

"In order? A mistake, I came for a visit, and this is my Commander, Shepard." He wrapped a hand around her arm and gently pulled her closer to him but not too close they were touching.

"Shepard? Is she related to that other commander you had?" The female walked in front of her to look at her closer.

"Solana she _is_ the other commander." Shepard and Solana both had a look at each other. She looked just like Garrus but with much longer mandibles that were flared outwards at the ends on a slightly smaller head.

"That's impossible. You said she got spaced and died!" Solana turned her attention back to Garrus.

"I don't know much about what happened afterwards but she was physically dead for two years. If you want to hear more about that you can ask her yourself." Solana looked back towards Shepard who was standing there with her eyes wide looking like she was standing in front of a collector without a weapon. She looked briefly at Garrus and then said.

"I will explain later. It's a lengthy story and I wouldn't want to bore the children." She smiled and looked down at one who had wrapped his hands around her leg. Shepard moved her hand upwards and drew the cloak down away from her head, and continued through her hair.

The older Turian in the chair moved her hand to beckon them over. Solana and Garrus were quick to go over and they left Shepard standing there awkward. She looked over to them to see them talking and looked towards the middle of the room. She looked at one of the Turian children who was looking at behind one of the stone walls dividing the kitchen from the living room. She started to say something but before she could he moved from his cover and vanished. She walked forward and looked behind the wall where he was standing to find nothing. She furrowed her brow and wondered where he went when she felt a pain grip her shoulder. She looked behind her to find Garrus holding her left shoulder with a firm grip.

She quietly spoke while she turned to him. "You know that is my bad shoulder."

"I do." He almost said it as a question. "My mother wants to speak to you." He moved his hand off her and motioned her to follow him. She walked beside him towards his mother in the chair. Shepard sat across from her on a couch and waited patiently for her to speak.

"If you really are the same Commander Shepard who defeated Saren I have you thank you for taking my son under your command and for defeating a disgrace to our culture. I accept your choice to save the council but I dislike your choice to sacrifice thousands of human lives in the defeat of Sovereign." She paused to cough into her hand. Solana was beside her and tried to comfort her but she had just waved it away.

"I can assure you that I am exactly that Shepard." She felt strange referring to herself but pressed on. "And I am glad to be in your presence." She outstretched a hand for a handshake then remembered the cultural difference, but was surprised that the Turian mother took her hand.

"My name is, Valis, and it is a pleasure to meet you." She smiled and released her hand to sit back in her chair.

"Well, you already know my name, the pleasure is mine." Shepard smiled in return. It looked like Valis was about to speak when another Turian entered the room.

"What is going on in here?" A Turian a few inches taller than Garrus walked in with his mandibles pressed hard against his face. He pointed towards a door down the hall, "I go into my office for ten minutes and then we get a human and a rebel in here." He pointed to each of them individual as he talked about them. Garrus placed his head in one of his clawed hands and shook his head gently.

"Ariden, please don't do-" She stopped in her sentence to go into a coughing fit.

"How can you defend him like that? First he abandons his SPECTRE training, doesn't come for a visit when you get sick and he was gone to who knows where for two years!" Ariden walked towards Garrus until they were inches apart. "And this, which you still haven't told me about." Ariden reached his hand up and scrapped a talon across his scar. Garrus instinctively swatted his father's hand away and touched the scar to reveal fresh, dark blue blood on the end of his talon.

Ariden turned towards Shepard. "And who is this now? Don't tell me this is your mate and you're coming here to disappoint me, yet again." He looked her up and down and moved his mouth but the only noise which came out was a hardly audible vibration. Garrus and Valis both chuckled and Shepard grew a face of confusion.

One of the smaller children spoke from behind her. "He said, at least your attractive for a human female." Ariden glared at the child behind her and it ran away.

"Solana please take the children outside to practice their marksmanship." Solana looked up from helping her mother to briefly exchange a glance at her father.

She started walking away and Ariden returned to his rant. Shepard was blushing wildly and looked down towards her feet.

"She is not my mate."

"Where did you go for two years after she died?"

"Ah, now you see that's a different story for another day." Garrus retorted snidely. The vibrations returned and they both moved their mouths without sound. Shepard looked puzzled and Valis caught this. Valis beckoned Shepard to come closer and when she got within a few feet she spoke so the arguing men didn't hear.

"You know that Turians have a second set of vocal chords yes?" Shepard nodded. "We can use pitches that your insensitive ears cannot register. It's kind of like speaking in a different language." Shepard turned her head to the two men who looked like they were only mouthing words. She turned back to Valis who was smiling at her.

"Would you like to go outside with the children while these boys argue?" Valis asked politely.

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Garrus

Garrus was getting upset. And when he was angry he didn't think straight. He had heard his mother explain to Shepard how they were communicating. And now his ears were being berated by his father's sub-tones. "I can't believe." this and "I would never think." That.

Instead of standing to listen, he sat down. His armor could only support his legs for so long and even with the servo motors helping him stand it was heavy on his body.

"And what's this about Shepard? Why is she here?"

The fury rushed into his blood but he remained calm. "Because she has nowhere else to go, her whole family was wiped out by Batarians when she was seven." Ariden stared blankly towards him like he was waiting for him to continue. "I caught her when she was leaving the ship and I invited her to Palaven. She would have slept in the damn ship if I didn't." Ariden paced the room with his hands behind his back.

"Where is she sleeping? We only have one guest room." Ariden looked towards Garrus.

"I guess we will have to sleep in the same room. We will find a way." His father looked suspiciously towards him.

"And you couldn't be lying to me about her not being you mate."

Garrus replied with disagreement. And he had meant it, they weren't mated and their relationship had just begun. He looked outside one of the radiation protected windows at Shepard and his sister playing with all of the four children, Solana was at least. Shepard always had more difficulty talking with children for some reason.

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Shepard

Later on in the day, after Garrus and Ariden stopped their arguing and Shepard and Solana returned. Night was falling and the entire planet seemed to cool by ten degrees, and as the heater inside the house kicked in everyone settled down and began casually talking. When it came to ten pm, Solana made the children do to bed and afterwards did the same to everyone else.

Shepard walked in ahead of Garrus to a small room with a concave dip in the ground at the corner of the room with sheets covering the inside and pillows coating the edge. It smelled of a weak musk she couldn't quite place. Small mall trinkets adorned a few shelves beside some foreign art on the wall. A room covered by a door was on the left side, most likely leading to a bathroom.

"They really laid on the musk." Garrus said as he walked in looking around the room like she had done.

"I can't really smell it." She had stepped over to let him through and bumped into one of the shelves; she knocked a small glass statue over but managed to catch it. It was a semi-transparent glass statue of a dinosaur like animal. She placed it gently back on the shelf and turned it to face the correct way. A plaque on the base read, "Palaven." She looked behind herself to see Garrus arranging the bed to fit her body. He looked up and seen her watching him.

"I can sleep on the floor and you can have the nest." He smirked and she felt guilty.

"Do you sleep in your armor?" She asked, turning towards him.

"I would if we were on the Normandy, but here I won't." He reached behind himself and a small rush of pressure escaped. "One clasp down, thirty four more to go." He smiled towards her.

She giggled and looked behind at the makeshift bed he had made her. "We can both sleep in there. You might be a little large…" She trailed off and smiled at him as he pulled of a section of the armor covering his arm.

He looked down at himself and back at her with lifted brow plates. "Are you calling me fat?"

"Maybe. We can sleep in the nest with pillows or something between us. Or if you want we don't even need the pillows…" She looked down at her feet while she was speaking. She felt more nervous then, more than when they were actually battling the Collectors. She had never been in a relationship in her life and this could be her first one.

"You still haven't answered me." He calmly spoke as he unbuttoned more clasps and took more of his plating off.

"Answered what?" She questioned turning to watch him preform the laborious task of taking off his suit.

He stepped towards her and spoke in a much lower tone than usual, "If we are to become mates or not." He reached his hands out towards her and she placed hers in his.

"We have been through a lot Garrus and I trust you like no one else but… I just want to know if you're alright with never being able to have a family." She looked up towards him with her intelligent eyes the color of a dark sapphire.

He moved a hand up to stroke her cheek gently and she leaned into it. "I always wanted you, Shepard. And everything else that comes with you, I will deal with." She wrapped her hands above his waist and pulled herself close in a hug. She had to contort herself so she avoided his chest armor he still had on. Garrus placed his forehead on hers and she closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of him. His hands came around her slowly like she would shatter if he was too rough. One arm wrapped around her at shoulder height and the other along the small of her back. The stood like that for a brief moment before Garrus gently moved her apart.

"Could you, maybe, help me with some of my armor clasps?" He said awkwardly as he looked into her eyes.

She laughed. "Sure. Where do you need help with?" He turned around.

"I thought you did research on Turians and th-" The clasps came undone and he peeled the plates off his chest.

"I did." She said shortly and walked towards the concave nest. She laid down carefully and Garrus removed the last of his leg plating and crawled in beside her. Shepard took the side closest the wall and rolled over to face Garrus. He was wearing a spacer outfit underneath and he reached over her to grab a blanket from a compartment cut in the stone.

"If you were too cold…" He trailed off as she rolled over to face the wall and moved closer towards him. The warmth emanating off him was enough for both of them and she felt his arm drape over her waist to hold her there.

"I'm fine just here." She said silently and closed her eyes to rest.

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I just hunkered down for two days to write this…. I don't know what I was feeling but I didn't like this part…. Didn't feel right… If you thought so as well then go ahead and write it in the reviews.

Emotions and interactions are hard to write about, XD.

Thank you, my lovely fans.


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